The course aims at:

• describing the main construction techniques of historical buildings, with special emphasis on masonry constructions;
• understanding and modelling the mechanical behaviour of masonry;
• introducing modelling and analysis techniques for historical buildings;
• illustrating testing and monitoring techniques  for historical buildings;
• understanding the origin of the most common faults in historical buildings.

Theoretical lessons will be complemented by seminars on specific topics, analysis of real study cases and field trips. 

The students are asked to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of topics covered in MSc courses regarding structural analysis, computational mechanics, and mechanics of materials.

They will show their ability in applying knowledge and understanding acquired during the course to analyze historical buildings and structures by hand calculation methods, and software for advanced structural analysis.

1. Construction techniques of historical buildings. Masonry and other materials in historical buildings. Evolution of the construction techniques over time. Structural elements of historical buildings: walls, arches, vaults. Ancient design rules vs modern mechanics.

2. Mechanical behaviour of masonry. Constitutive laws for masonry: elasticity, plasticity, failure criteria, no-tension material model. Micromechanical vs phenomenological approaches.

3. Structural analysis techniques. Problems in modelling and analyzing historical buildings. Limit analysis applied to masonry buildings. Buckling of masonry elements in compression. Case studies.

4. Masonry arches and vaults. Typology of masonry arches and vaults, design criteria, analysis of arch bridges, masonry domes, theory of thin shells, analysis of typical masonry vaults.

5. Damage and failure mechanisms for historical buildings. Possible causes of cracking. Damage and failure mechanisms under static loads and ground settlements. Damage and failure mechanisms under earthquakes.

6. Diagnosis of historical buildings. Inspection and diagnosis techniques. In-situ (ND and MD) testing on masonry elements. Modal testing. Monitoring of historic buildings. Case studies.

Continuum mechanics. Mechanics of materials. Structural mechanics. Computational mechanics.

The evaluation of students aims at assessing their ability in applying knowledge and understanding acquired during the course. Ongoing evaluation includes classwork on seminars on selected, advanced topics, and a mid-term test on limit analysis applied to masonry bridges. Final evaluation consists in a written test on the theoretical parts of the course.